Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Shares Up 4.8% - Time to Buy?

Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) was up 4.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $97.50 and last traded at $97.29. Approximately 3,786,126 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 64% from the average daily volume of 10,440,991 shares. The stock had previously closed at $92.88.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on ANET shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Arista Networks from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Arista Networks from $102.50 to $118.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Arista Networks from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Arista Networks from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Arista Networks from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $113.79.

Arista Networks Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $117.41 billion, a PE ratio of 41.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.09. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $111.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $102.19.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The technology company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. Arista Networks had a net margin of 40.72% and a return on equity of 29.91%. On average, analysts anticipate that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Arista Networks

In other news, SVP Kenneth Duda sold 80,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.29, for a total value of $8,663,200.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,976 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,405,171.04. This represents a 86.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Charles H. Giancarlo sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $412.65, for a total transaction of $825,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 42,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,721,666.90. The trade was a 4.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 433,441 shares of company stock valued at $46,538,462. 3.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Arista Networks

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. purchased a new stake in Arista Networks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $242,000. GHE LLC raised its stake in Arista Networks by 319.0% in the fourth quarter. GHE LLC now owns 28,368 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $3,136,000 after purchasing an additional 21,597 shares in the last quarter. Colonial River Investments LLC raised its stake in Arista Networks by 327.6% in the fourth quarter. Colonial River Investments LLC now owns 9,745 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,077,000 after purchasing an additional 7,466 shares in the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated raised its stake in Arista Networks by 395.8% in the fourth quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 18,593 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,072,000 after purchasing an additional 14,843 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proactive Wealth Strategies LLC raised its stake in Arista Networks by 387.6% in the fourth quarter. Proactive Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 6,120 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $676,000 after purchasing an additional 4,865 shares in the last quarter. 82.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Arista Networks Company Profile

Arista Networks, Inc engages in the development, marketing, and sale of data-driven, client to cloud networking solutions for data center, campus, and routing environments in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific. Its cloud networking solutions consist of Extensible Operating System (EOS), a publish-subscribe state-sharing networking operating system offered in combination with a set of network applications.